#Review #HeSaidSheSaid by Erin Kelly @MsErinKelly @HodderBooks #PsychologicalThriller #SleepStealer

OH MY GOD.

Where the hell do I start with this one?

While and I try and think of something to say about He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly, here’s the blurb …

Hodder & Stoughton (20 April 2017)

You don’t want to be left in the dark. Twisty, gripping and thought-provoking, HE SAID/SHE SAID is the suspense novel everyone is lining up to read and rave about.

In the hushed aftermath of a total eclipse, Laura witnesses a brutal attack.

She and her boyfriend Kit call the police, and in that moment, four lives change forever.

Fifteen years on, Laura and Kit live in fear.

And while Laura knows she was right to speak out, she also knows that you can never see the whole picture: something is always hidden… something she never could have guessed.

 My thoughts …

Now that I’ve picked myself up off of the floor and my hands have stopped shaking from the adrenaline, I can almost, just about, think straight enough to sum this book up. It’s not easy though!

He Said/She Said is f**king brilliant.

There … I just swore in a review (sorry mum!) But it’s justified, and the f**king needs to be said in the right way, the kinda way where it comes right from your stomach because my god this book is just that …

F**KING BRILLIANT!!!!!!!

Kit and Laura, loves young dream, both a little lost until they happen upon each other at university and their fates are sealed, its practically love at first sight, they become a couple and start chasing eclipses together.

Perfect.

Until that happens. Then that … and that … and then before they know it, their perfect life isn’t so perfect anymore and they are living a life neither of them could have imagined.

Fearful. Scared. Isolated.

With only each other to trust and rely on, what will happen if the past catches up with them?

I was instantly hooked on this book, Kelly weaves a beautiful yarn, the story is intricate, it’s delicate and it’s shocking.

One of my favourite things about He Said/She Said is it’s simplicity, we aren’t dealing with twenty-thousand possible suspects/outcomes/twists/turns/craziness that are just impossible to keep up with, Kelly introduces us to just the right amount of characters, in my opinion, giving us the chance to really get to know them, to see where they fit in the plot and to understand and appreciate their reason for being written.

We are taken on a journey with Kit and Laura, a journey that spans fifteen long and difficult years; we love them, we fear for them and we are rooting for them to overcome what life has thrown at them, through no fault of their own … Or was it?

There is nothing superfluous about Kelly’s writing, each chapter brings something to the table and that is a skill.

I was reminded of BA Paris’ Behind Closed Doors in that respect; another author who doesn’t fill page after page with a load of old tosh to make their book bigger or to flesh out a story line that doesn’t need fleshing out; readers hate it and thankfully, I’m seeing less of it nowadays (thanks everyone!) Not only does it make the reader happier and keep them more engaged, it shows the incredible skill of the author.

He Said/She Said is around the four-hundred pages mark, depending on the format, and Kelly fills them all to perfection. I doff my hat!

I cannot discuss the plot, it would be far too easy to let something slip and as this is a serious book review blog and not a Facebook status spoiling the last episode of Broadchurch (you know who you all are!!), I refuse to let that happen.

Instead, I will finish with this, if you like a book that will toy with your senses, that will make you gasp, that will make you desperately reach for the matchsticks so you can read just one more word (yes I was that bad at one point) then buy this book.

He Said/She Said is right up there with The Opticians Wife by Betsy Reavley and The Sister by Louise Jensen in terms of it’s utter brilliance and true keeping to the genre ‘psychological thriller’.

Quite simply, it does not get any better than this.

#sleepstealer

You can buy your copy now over at Amazon UK

 

About the author …

I write suspense fiction. I had read scores of psychological thrillers before I heard the term: the books that inspired me to write my own included Endless Night by Agatha Christie, The Secret History by Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine. My books atmospheric thrillers, always about people trying to atone for, escape, or uncover a past crime. I’m more interested in what happens before the police arrive – if arrive they ever do – than how murder is solved.

My first novel, The Poison Tree, was a Richard and Judy bestseller and a major ITV drama starring Myanna Buring, Ophelia Lovibond and Matthew Goode. I’ve written four more original psychological thrillers – The Sick Rose, The Burning Air, The Ties That Bind and my latest, He Said/She Said, about a young couple who witness a rape and, after the trial, begin to wonder if they believed the right person.

The best day of my career was when Stephen King sent an email about The Poison Tree saying, ‘I wish I’d written it.’ It was April 1 2010, and I was so sure it was an April Fool’s that I didn’t thank him for days.

I love hearing from readers and always reply to emails. You can download a free coffee-break story, email me and read my blog at http://www.erinkelly.co.uk
I’m on Twitter – @mserinkelly – and if you can’t find me there it means I’ve deactivated for a while to focus on writing, which is after all the point. I’m always on Instagram where everything is lovely and no one is ever rude – @erinjelly

Before I wrote fiction, I was a journalist, and before I was a journalist I was a barmaid, a receptionist, a special needs classroom assistant, a pub signwriter, the world’s worst telemarketer, a nightclub cleaner and a shop assistant. These days, I still work as a freelance journalist and also teach creative writing for Curtis Brown Creative and the Guardian Masterclasses, as well as mentoring private clients.

I live in North London with my family, who think I read too many books. I disagree.